The present invention relates to spraying apparatus generally, and, more particularly, to an apparatus suitable for spraying ingredients onto food products.
It is often desired, in a food processing or baking operation, to apply a relatively thin coating of an edible ingredient to a food product. Some ingredients, such as chocolate, are applied by a continuous falling curtain of ingredient through which the product passes as it moves along a horizontal conveyor path. These curtain operations require a very high rate of ingredient flow past the product with a large portion of the ingredient being recycled. An uneven coating results in which downwardly facing portions of an irregular product may remain uncovered. The bottom of the product cannot be coated at all. For the most part, however, the coating is thicker than desired, often requiring subsequent processing to remove excess ingredient. Another disadvantage of an ingredient curtain is that it requires that the product move slowly with a low rate of through put.
Another conventional ingredient coating technique, calls for passing the food product through an ingredient bath. This is also a slow process that often results in a coating thicker than desired. Baths are often used, for example, to apply batter to meat cutlets.
While various types of spraying apparatus have been used in the food processing industry, they have not, to the inventor's knowledge, been used to apply ingredient coatings. One spraying apparatus described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,424,128 is commonly used to spray greasing liquid or oil into the cavities of pans.
An important problem encountered in attempts to spray food ingredients derives from the high sanitation standards that must be met. These standards require that the interior of an apparatus used to apply ingredients be readily and conveniently accessible for frequent, thorough cleaning. A typical spraying apparatus, however, has long enclosed conduits, nozzles and other interior spaces that are accessible only when the apparatus has been tediously disassembled and then only to a limited extent, thus making cleaning a difficult and time consuming chore.
The problems associated with cleaning such conventional spraying apparatus would be compounded if ingredients were to be sprayed because of the relatively viscous nature of most ingredients when compared to commonly sprayed materials such as the oils used to coat baking pans. Viscous materials, are decidedly more difficult to remove from interior spaces where they may tend to collect and remain separated from the flow of fresh material through adjacent areas. In short, the problems associated with spraying ingredients onto food products are such that ingredients have not been sprayed commercially despite the known shortcomings of other ingredient application techniques.